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Mad? Oh, yes, the traditional accusation! And next you'll be telling me it's all because I'm misunderstood! All the great monsters were misunderstood! Mr. Hyde-- Frankenstein's creation-- Dracula-- The Golem-- all of them! But not me! Not Basil Karlo! Not the Ultimate Clayface! My intentions will be clear from the start! I will take what I want-- when I want it! And any who stand in my way shall-- burn!
„
~ Clayface
“
It wasn't always like this. Back before I was Clayface. Back when I was Basil Karlo, I was on my way to the top. Red carpet movie premieres, million-dollar mansions, fast cars, beautiful women. And that was just the start. I had big plans. I had ambition. I also had a temper. When people pissed me off, when people insulted me, people got hurt. That ain't ever changed. I don't figure it's ever gonna. My entire career went down the drain after I hit that director. They took my life away, so I became Clayface to get revenge. Still had the big plans. Still had the ambition. And more than anything else - I still had that temper.
„
~ Clayface
“
The will to take power that is not yours.We know this well. We've all been there lived outside the system and yet taken power from it. And there too people looked upon us with fear. We were the villains of their story. You all came to me because you felt the need to be change. to be Different . Well, This is our time. Now is our chance to Atone.
„
~ Clayface
Basil Karlo, better known as Clayface, is a supporting character from the DC Universe, specifically serving as a major character in the Batman franchise.
While there have been multiple people to take up the title, the most well-known and iconic Clayface is the original Basil Karlo, an actor who fell from grace after transforming into a melting mass of living mud, granted with the ability to change his appearance into anything and anyone. He served as an enemy to Batman and later became a member of the Bat Family.
Basil Karlo was a B-list actor who went insane with anger when Dread Castle, a classic horror movie he starred in, was remade with a different actor in the leading role.
Karlo proceeded to kill several members of the cast while dressed up as the Clayface Killer, a character he portrayed in a different film, intending to finish his killing spree by killing the actor who replaced him, before he was stopped and unmasked by Batman and Robin. Although Karlo soon managed to escape incarceration and attempted to murder Bruce Wayne's fiancé Julie Madison, he was again foiled by the Dynamic Duo and was sent back to prison.
While Karlo was left in prison, several other individuals would take on the mantle of Clayface for themselves. The second Clayface, Matt Hagen, was a treasure hunter who accidentally fell into a radioactive pool of protoplasm, allowing him to assume a clay-like form able to morph into almost anything he desired. This form was only temporary, however, and he had to continue immersing himself in the protoplasm in order to maintain his powers. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Hagen was killed by one of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons.
The third Clayface, Preston Payne, was a scientist who worked at S.T.A.R. Labs looking for a cure for his hyperthyroidism. In order to achieve this, he took a sample of the then-living Matt Hagen's blood and isolated an enzyme that he injected into his bloodstream. While Payne was initially able to maintain his own appearance, his flesh began to melt while on a date with his girlfriend; when he grabbed her arm, she dissolved into protoplasm.
Constructing an exoskeleton suit in order to support his flesh and contain his condition, Payne learned that he had to spread his dissolving contagion onto others in order to survive, feeling excruciating pain if he did not dissolve anyone. As his sanity eroded, Payne began to fall in love with a mannequin he named "Helena'" believing that she was the only person he could touch without dissolving her.
The fourth Clayface was Sondra Fuller, also known as "Lady Clay". A member of the villainous team Strike Force Kobra, Fuller was willingly transformed by her employers' technologies, giving her powers similar to those of Matt Hagen, although hers were permanent.
Around 8 years after his imprisonment, Karlo was visited by Fuller and convinced her to help him form the Mud Pack; an alliance consisting of himself, Sondra and Payne with the common goal of eliminating Batman. However, Basil also secretly plotted to betray his comrades and obtain their powers for himself. He even tried to revive Hagen in hopes of recruiting him to the Mud Pack as well, but to no avail.
After the group appeared to have defeated Batman, Karlo stole blood samples from the other Clayfaces and forced a doctor to inject the samples into him, transforming Basil into the Ultimate Clayface. Basil then used his new powers to almost kill Batman and the superheroine Looker in a showdown, until Looker used her psychokinesis to overload Karlo's abilities, causing him to melt through the Earth's crust.
Several other individuals took on the mantle following the Mud Pack incident, including Cassius Payne (nicknamed 'Clay'), the son of Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller. Other Clayfaces were company DEO Dr. Peter 'Claything' Malley (transformed following contact with a skin sample of Cassius), former army soldier Todd Russell, Gotham firefighter Johnny Williams (who gained his powers after an explosion at a chemical plant, leading to him being manipulated by Hush and the Riddler in his desperation for a cure), and an unidentified Clayface operating in Japan.
New 52[]
Basil Karlo's history and origin was altered for the New 52. In this continuity, Basil was once a temperamental actor who had trouble getting a particular movie role. He decided to make a deal with the Penguin in exchange for a way to land the role he wanted. Penguin gave Basil mystical clay that transformed him into the monstrous Clayface, which gave Karlo the power to shape-shift and impersonate anyone he wants.
Basil then went on to gain a successful acting career while also working as Penguin's henchman in his down time. The jobs he was forced to do for the Penguin made his temper even worse and Basil eventually punched a director who berated him for ad-libbing on set. Karlo's career soon fell apart and Basil decided to fully embrace a life of crime as the supervillain Clayface.
DC Rebirth[]
Tired of his life as a criminal, Clayface finally decided to turn over a new leaf and made an effort to work as a hero in Gotham. Batman, respecting Karlo's choice to make himself better, recruited Clayface to train under him along with some other budding vigilantes and presents Karlo as more of a sympathetic character than seen in the past.
Karlo accepts the offer to join Batman's new team, the Gotham Knights. It's also revealed that Basil's origins were again changed because of alterations made to the time stream, with this latest revision of his past being based off Matt Hagen from Batman: The Animated Series.
During his time as part of the Gotham Knights, Clayface formed a friendship with Cassandra Cain, a.k.a. Orphan, learned basic hand-to-hand combat, and aided his teammates in training and battle. Unfortunately, he was eventually brainwashed by villains and sent on a destructive rampage.
In Detective Comics issue #973, Clayface was apparently killed by Batwoman in order to prevent a building full of people from being destroyed. However, it's revealed a couple of issues later that Basil is alive and has decided to leave the city, but not before leaving a note for Cassandra to find.
In Doomsday Clock #5, it's been shown that Sondra Fuller still exists in the Post-Flashpoint continuity. While only briefly mentioned, Fuller's origin on Prime Earth seems identical to her New Earth one, except she is now referred to as Lady Clayface instead of just Lady Clay.
Infinite Frontier[]
In Catwoman issue 33, Basil Karlo, brought Killer Croc, Firefly, Cheshire, and the New God Knockout as potential allies seeking a second chance. Then Karlo assures Selina that her Alleytown stronghold will inevitably come to a head with the Magistrate, which can be better served with formidable allies by her side.
Basil, Waylon, and Selena arrive at Gotham city Docks when will goes as plan but suddenly they caught bomb blast. Clayface and Killer Croc attack Valley, giving Selina a chance to escape into the water, as the Magistrate Croc Tell Basil to retreat and before that Valley blows Clayface up with a grenade. Eventually they have successful and begin to repair the damage.
Dawn of DC[]
Clayface bring the "loyal" villains for war against other Joker in Gotham (that only because only reason because the money). With his job finish now pay him be out here but Joker to force to join his side or get killed. The war started already Joker demanding man, woman, and even children's Clayface had enough he rather die than cross the line as he leave.
A new version of Clayface appears in the show The Batman. Batman's trusted ally police detective Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steve Harris) gets transformed by Joker via experimental chemicals and gets turned into Clayface. It turned him crazy, and he becomes a sympathetic, recurring enemy of Batman. The Basil Karlo version later appears (voiced by Wallace Langham.
He was an unsuccessful actor who broke into Waynetech and stole the same chemical that created Bennett and became the new Clayface and also a recurring enemy. In the episode "Clayfaces" Bennett tries to redeem himself by taking out criminals like Joker and the other Clayface.
In the fight against the two Clayfaces, Batman gave them a cure and Ethan is successfully cured while Basil soon discovers that he managed to retain his powers. In another episode that takes place 20 years in the future, Ethan Bennett is shown as the Chief of Police.
Batman the Brave and the Bold[]
In the episode "Joker the Vile and the Villainess" a picture of the Preston Payne version appears alongside a bunch of other pictures of Batman villains in a bar where a bunch of other villains hang out.
The Basil Karlo version of the character later appears in the film Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Basil Karlo appeared in the second season of the Fox DC series Gotham during the "Wrath of the Villains" story arc. He made his first appearance in the second to last episode of season 2, titled "A Legion of Horribles", and was portrayed by Brian McManamon.
Clayface appears in DC Universe's adult animation series Harley Quinn. Being a comedy series, this Clayface is a much more comedic version of his usual self and speaks in a British accent. However, his real name and origin are unknown aside from the fact that he got his powers in an accident. He first appears in the third episode "So You Need A Crew", in the disguise of "Hot southern bartender" before revealing himself.
After Harley Quinn visits Maxie Zeus and gets the idea to get a crew together to help her gain notoriety, Clayface happily agrees to join her and, along with Doctor Psycho, helps Harley get revenge on Maxie Zeus, distracting him by pretending to be his estranged son. Zeus eventually figures out he's faking it, but Harley arrives just in time to save him.
Clayface stayed on Harley's team for the first two seasons, mostly using his shape-shifting and mimicking powers to distract certain people so Harley and the rest of her crew can sneak into places or get away from danger. Being an actor, Clayface speaks in an enthusiastic, loud voice with a semi-British accent and often exaggerates the way he says certain things. Each time he disguises himself as a random person, he always makes up a complicated and dramatic backstory.
When Harley starts a relationship with Poison Ivy and halts her criminal operations to spend time with her, Clayface attempts to relaunch his acting career, auditioning for James Gunn's biopic about Thomas Wayne. Initially wanting to get the role of Thomas, he conforms with being hired as the "director's chair", while Thomas' role goes to actor Billy Bob Thornton. Clayface attempts to befriend Thornton to get in the industry, and has a meeting with him in Catwoman's house (which is being used by Harley and Ivy at the moment), while impersonating Gunn. However, he studied Gunn's brother Sean's career instead of James', so Thornton quickly discovers him. Thornton, however, is able to see Clayface's potential and offers to mentor him, but is later killed by Catwoman's pet tiger, so Clayface replaces him in the film. The biopic's premiere is a huge success, so Clayface decides to confess to the public that he was actually the one who played as Thomas Wayne. To his disappointment, no one believes him, and he leaves the premiere heartbroken.
Some time later, Clayface is hired as a singer in Lex Luthor's hotel for supervillains in Las Vegas, due to his ability to shapeshift into every celebrity that has performed in the city in all its history. Having finally found success in his acting career, Clayface told Ivy to ask him for tickets whenever they wanted to come to Vegas. Ivy, however, ignored him, leading him to become bitter towards her. When Harley and Ivy eventually come to Vegas, Ivy doesn't tell Harley about Clayface's offer due to embarrassment for her behaviour towards him, and instead helps her steal two tickets from another attendant. Clayface foils their plan as revenge, and ends up even fighting Ivy until Harley drives him away by telling him his anger is making his forehead wrinkles pop. He later concludes his revenge by gifting King Shark's newborn babies front row tickets for his show, in front of Ivy.
Clayface gets another chance at getting revenge on Ivy when Bane asks him for tickets for his show, so that he can complete his own personal quest to learn how to make pasta. In exchange for the tickets, Clayface has Bane headbutt Ivy on live television. Shortly after that, Clayface goes bankrupt again after Alfred Pennyworth's White Collar Wine business, in which he had made serious investments, goes under. At the same time, Ivy and Harley also defeated Lex Luthor and destroyed his hotel in Vegas with a space death ray, also leaving Clayface without a job.
Clayface appeared as a major antagonist in the 2018 crossover film, Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Here, he was disguised as the Crimson Cloak.
Batman: Hush[]
Clayface is recruited willing or unwillingly into Hush's scheme. Hush implanted a control device in Clayface that kept him in the form of the Riddler, and would be puppeteered to move and talk. Batman slashed Clayface's "throat" which removed the control device, returning the shape-shifter his freedom and abilities; rather than grateful, Clayface was angered it took so long, so attempted to kill Batman and James Gordon, however, Batman was able to stick a fire hose into Clayface's body, pumping such water that the villain's body lost cohesion and he was easily contained afterwards.
Clayface isn't an opponent in the game Batman: Arkham Asylum. He can be seen in a special cell, where he changes his appearance a few times. He is seen in the forms of the guard Aaron Cash, the warden Quincy Sharp and Commissioner Gordon. One of the Riddler's riddles revolves around him. Even though he appears, he never shows his true form, though it can be shown in the Character Bios.
Clayface as seen in the Character Bios of Batman: Arkham Asylum.
He has an entry in the Character Bios. His profile states:
Initially an actor in horror films, Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade with a different actor in the lead role. He took on the mask of the film’s villain, Clayface, and killed several of the remake’s cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined the Mud Pack, an alliance of shape-changing, mutated villains who had subsequently used the name Clayface. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies and injected himself with the essence of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.
Clayface appears as an antagonist in Batman Arkham City. In the game Joker hires him to impersonate a cured Joker. Clayface was not even supposed to be in Arkham City, but says that he accepted the Joker's offer for that he would have "the role of a lifetime", hinting more at his backstory. In certain points of the game in seeing "cured Joker" you see that he has no skeletal system in detective mode.
After Joker kidnaps Talia al Ghul and Batman went to save her, she stabbed "Joker" in the back, and he appears to have died. Until the real, sick Joker shoots her, and Clayface reveals his true form. Batman fights him, and eventually got the cure out of him, but not before Joker blows up the ground into a Lazarus Pit. Joker tries and fails to jump in, and soon dies without getting the cure.
Your power is useless. I am a force of nature unto myself.
„
~ Clayface
“
The Batman has not seen the last of me.
„
~ Clayface
“
You're made out of some king of powerful clay... clay that I want.
„
~ Clayface
“
NO. Callin' me an idiot... That was the mistake.
„
~ Clayface
“
I won't be ignored anymore! I won't be contained! You'll all learn! All of you! You'll learn how special I am! And you'll be sorry.
„
~ Clayface
“
Alrighty! now, let's roll the credits, shall we? And the man playing the Batman is... Ah! Bruce Wayne.
„
~ Clayface
“
Cripes, kid. You designed all this yourself? Why the hell are you even in the superhero business?
„
~ Clayface
“
Who were you going to sign up for this charade next? Two-Face? Joker? Did you think your whole rogues gallery was gonna sign up to be on Team Bat-Friends? I was using you, you idiot. I was trying to stay out of Arkham. That was it. That's all it ever was. I don't care about any of you.
„
~ Clayface
“
Let 's get the hell out of this city before I change my mind. It's time to become something new.
„
~ Clayface
“
This place Alleytown, is a small place in big city. But in its magnanimity and humans chaos,it has become the last bastion of freedom in this Fear State. If We can Help the Catwoman (DC) keep in that way... ....maybe we can hope that there is a place yet that we can come back to... a place for us to call home.
„
~ Clayface
Trivia[]
There are a total of 7 Clayfaces with only one of them being female.
One of the Clayfaces of New Earth, Todd Russell, being a serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in Gotham's East End is based off the real-life Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper, who targeted prostitutes in the East End of London.
The name of the fifth Clayface, Cassius "Clay" Payne, is a reference to the birth name of famous boxer Muhammed Ali.
Clayface from Batman: TAS, New Adventures and Justice League, transformed into more than 10 personalities.
The Prime Earth version of Basil Karlo is much younger and seemingly less theatrical than his New Earth counterpart, who is considerably more villainous and less sympathetic.
In Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, even though the Riddler was the main antagonist, Clayface (aka the Crimson Cloak) served as The Heavy because he drove the plot by pursuing and combating the Mystery Analysts of Gotham, which made Riddler the Big Bad and the one behind the plot.
His name "Basil Karlo" and shapeshifting were based on actors Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney. Clayface's ability was inspired by Chaney's makeup techniques to transform himself, hence the actor's nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces."
Ironically, in Batman: Detective Comics Annual #1 (2016) story, "The Curse of Clayface," Boris Karloff, the inspiration for the character, was briefly mentioned.
In the Prime Earth comics, Clayface's father Vincent Karlo, by name and facial likeness, was an homage to horror actor Vincent Price who had collaborated with Rathbone and Karloff in film works.
The Renu formula (seen in both Prime Earth and the Batman: TAS episode "Feat of Clay" [called Renuyu]) pays the homage to Channey's outstanding makeup art to change into distorted shapes.
He is set to make his film-debut in The Batman - Part 2 (October 2025).
Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003) Ra's al Ghul | Black Mask | False Face Society | Ubu | Joker | Killer Croc | Mr. Freeze | Victor Zsasz | Poison Ivy | Talia al Ghul | Ratcatcher | Ventriloquist & Scarface
Video Games Gotham Knights Court of Owls (Jacob Kane & Talon) | League of Shadows (Ra's al Ghul & Talia al Ghul) | Mr. Freeze | Clayface | Penguin | Man-Bat | Harley Quinn | Professor Pyg
Video Games Gotham Knights Court of Owls (Jacob Kane & Talon) | League of Shadows (Ra's al Ghul & Talia al Ghul) | Mr. Freeze | Clayface | Penguin | Man-Bat | Harley Quinn | Professor Pyg
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